Swiss ready to roll without Niederreiter

Swiss ready to roll without NiederreiterForward Sven Bärtschi highlights a list of seven returning players on the preliminary 33-man roster attending camp for Team Switzerland this week in preparation for the 2012 World Junior Championship in Calgary and Edmonton, Alta.

Forward Sven Bärtschi highlights a list of seven returning players on the preliminary 33-man roster attending camp for Team Switzerland this week in preparation for the 2012 World Junior Championship in Calgary and Edmonton, Alta.

The 25 players from European teams will train in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, and a first cut will be made by the end of this week. Switzerland head coach Manuele Celio will then travel with the team to Red Deer on Dec. 17 to continue the evaluation process. The club will play two exhibition games against Team USA on Dec. 21 in Camrose and Canada on Dec. 22 in Red Deer before paring the roster down to 22 players.

Bärtschi, who was chosen 13th by the Calgary Flames in the opening round of the 2011 Draft, is currently fifth in the Western Hockey League in scoring with 54 points, including 42 assists, for the Portland Winterhawks. New York Islanders prospect and Swiss native Nino Niederreiter, the highest draft pick from Switzerland (No. 5, 2010), will not join his country for a third tour of duty at the WJC. Niederreiter suffered a concussion after a hit to the head from Dallas' Mark Fistric on Dec. 3.

The top 2012 draft eligible prospects on the roster are right wings Joel Vermin and Dario Simion and centers Christoph Bertschy and Samuel Walser. All four skaters were listed among the top four from Switzerland, according to NHL Central Scouting's preliminary fall rankings. Vermin is the top-rated skater. Goalie Tim Wolf, meanwhile, is rated No. 2 at his position among those players starring in Switzerland.

Switzerland, which scored a 3-2 shootout victory over Finland in the fifth-place game at last year's WJC, will compete in Group A of the 2012 WJC with Russia, Sweden, Slovakia and Latvia. Group B will consist of Canada, the U.S., Czech Republic, Finland and Denmark.

Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mike_morreale

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Switzerland WJC schedule

Switzerland will be in Group A at the 2012 World Junior Championship and play its preliminary-round games at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. The medal round will also be played in Calgary

He's only 17 but he can see the ice so well and he moves the puck and goes to the open ice all the time, so I just think he's a player that is ready to play in the NHL. I'm really looking forward to coaching someone like this.

— U.S. National Junior Team coach Ron Wilson on Auston Matthews, the projected No. 1 pick of the 2016 NHL Draft